Departmental Projects: Archaeology

Contents

1. The Late Iron Age Sequence in the Marico and early Tswana history
2. Iron Age African Farmer Communities in the Waterberg
3. An Archaeological Investigation into the Cultural Historical remains of the Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa
4. Seeking Shelter: Later Stone Age Hunters, Gatherers and Fishers of Olieboomspoort in the Western Waterberg, South of the Limpopo
5. The socio-economics of a Voortrekker community, Schoemansdal, Limpopo
6. The Zoutpansberg/Northern Frontier Historical Sites Focus Group

7. Trade, warfare and big men in pre-colonial Northern Ghana

8. Trade, warfare and big men in pre-colonial Northern Ghana
   

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The late Iron Age sequence in the Marico and early Tswana history

Jan Boeyens
This study entails a survey and excavations of Iron Age sites in the Marico, North West Province, combined with a study of Tswana oral traditions as well as early 19th-century documentary sources.  The main focus will be on Kaditshwene-Tswenyane, the precolonial capital of the Hurutshe.

Iron Age African farmer communities in the Waterberg

Archaeology Division: Contact Jan Boeyens
Research includes a study of ethnographic sources, recorded oral traditions and early documentary evidence which may shed light on the precolonial history of Iron Age farming societies in the Waterberg region, as well as fieldwork. 

There is a large gap in our knowledge of the precolonial history of African farming societies in the Waterberg. There is also a renewed interest in the educational use and tourism potential of archaeological sites, which will ensure that the above research will, directly or indirectly, benefit local communities in the respective areas.  The need for continued archaeological research has also been underscored by the establishment of the Waterberg Biosphere, which was officially approved and proclaimed by UNESCO and the South African Government in 2001.  Our Department has entered into a memorandum of agreement with Lapalala Wilderness, one of the driving forces behind the Waterberg Biosphere, which will open new doors for archaeological and anthropological research in the region.

Our departmental Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology houses a large collection of Iron Age material from the Waterberg relating to departmental archaeological research projects carried out in the Motlhabatse and Lephalala drainage basins of the Waterberg.

An archaeological investigation into the cultural historical remains of the Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa

Francois Coetzee
Introduction
The Research Project in the Pilanesberg National Park was initiated in the middle of 1994 and has continued since then. This exciting project has the enormous task of documenting all the archaeological sites in the Park, which is roughly 55 000 ha in size. Since 1979, when the Park was proclaimed, the distribution of Iron Age stone-walled sites throughout the area was reported by game rangers patrolling their sectors, officials managing wildlife, as well as by officials involved in annual aerial surveys. As the park's infrastructure is still being developed, Park officials identified the need to investigate the cultural historical remains within its boundaries. A postgraduate archaeology student, Francois Coetzee, accepted the project as part of a Master's degree in Archaeology. 

Aims
The aim of the research is to reconstruct the cultural historical framework archaeological remains within the Park. This entails locating all the sites and then compiling a distribution map  of the area. The sites must also be placed within a chronological time framework which means that cultural material must be obtained for identification and classification. Cultural material such as charcoal and bone will then be sent to the CSIR where absolute dates can be determined with the radiocarbon (C14) dating technique. Some of the questions the research will attempt to answer are: where did early inhabitants of the area live; when did they live there; of what are their remains comprised; who were these people, and why did they live there. Once completed, the data obtained from this project will make it possible for the researcher to advise on the effective utilisation and development of cultural resources in the Park. One archaeological site has been opened to the public. Visitor studies are being conducted at the moment.

From an archaeological perspective the framework resulting from the research will be important because limited archaeological investigation has been done on the prehistory of the North West Province. Only four archaeologists have undertaken substantial research in the area in the past thirty years.

Getting your hands dirty!
The first objective of the project is to locate all the sites throughout the Park. This entails obtaining information from as many sources as possible, including Park officials, people living in proximity of the Park, historical documentation and ethnographic works, and information obtained from members of FOPS (Friends of the Pilanesberg). This aspect of the research entails driving around the Park and locating each site on foot, which is the only way in which undiscovered sites can be located. Once the sites have been located and documented, the next step of the information-gathering process will be to excavate key sites. The cultural material collected through systematic excavations will then be used to reconstruct past ways of life, with attention being given to aspects such as physical lay-out of the site, social organisation, types of pottery, faunal remains and iron smelting.

The research
At this stage of the project approximately sixty sites have been identified and documented. This entailed gathering information such as the overall lay-out and orientation of the site, location (a GPS is used to determine the latitude and longitude), condition, size and sensitivity. Most of the sites are situated on lower foothills close to water sources. This suggests that people were able to protect their livestock and at the same time be aware of approaching enemies, and also have access to water. Preliminary indications are that most of the sites were used as cattle outposts. Sites mainly consist of a large cattle kraal with a few attached domestic structures (averaging 100 metres in diameter). A few single isolated cattle kraals have also been located.

Ethnographic research and documents indicate that the Bakgatla ba ga Kgafela (part of the Tswana linguistic group) have been living in the vicinity of Pilanesberg since the latter half of the eighteenth century. Pilanesberg is named after a chief, Pilane, who ruled between 1825 and 1850. It is interesting to note that when they first arrived, another group, the baTlhako, were in the area and demanded tribute from the Bakgatla people. Today the Bakgatla people live in Saulspoort along the northern border of the Park.

Even before this period Stone Age hunter-gatherers were active in the area. Middle Stone Age artifacts are found all over the Park, thus indicating that people were in the area between 200 000 and 40 000 years ago.

Exciting finds: a skeleton
A partially eroded grave was located during the survey of the area. It appeared that the body had been buried in a disused burrow of a large animal, probably an aardvark. It was placed headfirst into the cavity, with the legs a little higher and nearer to the entrance. No grave goods were found in the grave.

After consultation with Park officials and Chief NJ Pilane of the Bakgatla people, permission was granted to excavate the remains. The skeleton was excavated by a team of specialists from the Department of Anatomy of the University of Pretoria. According to the provisional report the skeleton is female, aged between 18 and 24 years. During the excavation a further unexpected, but important discovery was made. The remains of a fetus were recovered from the abdominal area of the skeleton. Because of this unique find, the skeleton is undoubtedly female and can thus be analysed from a known point.

Measurements to determine the height of the skeleton must still be done. Electron microscopic studies of the remains also started early in 1997. Isotopic analysis to determine the date of the burial as well as diet is presently being done.

Mega site
A very extensive site, approximately 800 metres long, is situated in the eastern section of the Park. This is the largest site in the Park. Numerous stone-walled structures such as cattle kraals, hut foundations and platforms are evident. Middens (rubbish heaps) are also present. The site might be an indication of the existence of a chief who ruled over the Pilanesberg area. Excavations commenced on this site in 1997.

Cultural tourism
This project will contribute significantly to our knowledge about the people of this area.  This is part of our cultural heritage and must be studied and preserved.  The cultural environment is fast becoming as important as the natural environment, especially within game reserves.  Already cultural tourism (which will be actively marketed by Satour during the next three years) is on the increase, and will become one of the biggest attractions in the country.  Prehistoric sites form part of that heritage.

Seeking shelter: later stone age hunters, gatherers and fishers of Olieboomspoort in the Western Waterberg, south of the Limpopo

Maria van der Ryst
Olieboomspoort, a large rock shelter located in the drainage basin of the Mokolo River in Limpopo Province, has been selected as the site for a major research project designed to expand existing  data on the Later Stone Age (LSA) occupation of the Waterberg.  In contrast with LSA dates for the adjacent Waterberg Plateau, which indicate intensive utilisation after AD 1200 only, the dates for the uppermost layers at Olieboomspoort show that the shelter was occupied by LSA hunter-gatherers during the last two thousand years at least.  A major aim of the project is therefore to explore the reasons why the Mokolo Basin was settled by LSA hunter-gatherers over a much longer period than was the case on the Waterberg Plateau, which seems to have remained unoccupied until after its occupation by early African farmers in the second millenium AD.  The site has been identified for a long-term project and will be used as a field school location for Unisa archaeology students.